Slice of Life: Waiting Until the Pieces Will Fit Together Again #SOL20
The puzzle sits on the table unopened. I envisioned stealing away small moments over the weekend last year. I saved this one, especially for our visit. I knew you would love it and it was the perfect size for the time we would have together. Sadness washes over me as I realize it has remained unopened for a year.
Over the years, twenty-three if we are counting, we found ourselves connecting over puzzles. In the early years, it was more recreational. Laughing over a puzzle, sipping wine while the kids played or watched a movie. Getting through those long weekends when our husbands were on-call at the hospital. Friday nights always welcomed dinner, games and a puzzle. As the years progressed, we realized this ritual provided more than entertainment. Whenever the going got rough, we got a puzzle. “Puzzles are solvable,” we would joke through the tears. Puzzles are predictable. Puzzles are within our control. Puzzles slow us down when we need to breathe. Puzzles give us hours and hours to talk. Puzzles keep our hands busy so our hearts can feel. Puzzles bring us together when we need each other. Puzzles make sense when life does not. Puzzles have seen us through firsts and lasts, bests and worsts, beginnings and endings, hellos and goodbyes, hopes and fears, successes and failures, heartbreaks and loss. Puzzles have grounded us when we were feeling unsettled. Puzzles convinced we were in control of what was happening in our lives when we knew we were not. Puzzles were familiar terrain as we embarked upon uncharted territory. We discovered we each have our own approach to puzzles. You never look at the picture on the box, always preferring to examine each piece to figure out how they fit together. I prefer to keep the box close at hand, never one to love surprises. Together, the perfect balance of making the best decisions with the information we have, but understanding the need to pay attention every moment. Planning for what may come, but knowing the need to adjust for what arrives. Hoping to find the solution and learning to laugh in the face of adversity. Realizing you might have to try many options before you find the right one. At this stage of our lives, it seems we are facing more problems we do not have the power to solve. Life is no longer that simple. Some days it seems there are more trials than tribulations. Some days we have to work harder to laugh rather than cry. Some days we wish life was more like a puzzle. The puzzle sits on the table unopened, but our friendship endures – piece by piece – predicable, comforting, and familiar.
This post was drafted using speech to text since I am slicing with broken arms.
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